Justice Minister Hubig pushes AfD ban review and voting rights loss for hate speech convictions

Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig described the selection of AfD politician Tobias Rausch as state parliament president in Saxony-Anhalt as a "Zäsur" and called for an assessment of a possible ban on the party. In parallel, she outlined legislative changes that would bar individuals sentenced to more than 90 daily fines or imprisonment from serving as lay judges, and require verification of democratic loyalty for candidates.

Hubig also proposed that anyone convicted of intentional hate speech with a minimum one-year sentence lose the passive right to stand for election, a measure that could impact AfD leader Björn Höcke. The minister plans to present a draft reform of the judges' law to the cabinet within the coming week. The reforms would empower election committees to request records from the federal central register and examine public social-media profiles, while excluding routine checks with the domestic intelligence service.